Digital Platforms: Designing Two-Sided Markets from APIs to Feature Roadmaps

An online course for developing digital platforms:
MIT Professional Education’s online course Digital Platforms aims to guide participants as they design and develop effective digital platforms. This course employs a technical approach to building loyal consumer bases and differentiated products, taking an in-depth look at features, APIs, and standards.

The course is designed with practicality in mind and includes several case studies of successes and failures in modern markets.

Digital Platforms Designing Two-Sided Markets from APIs to Feature Roadmaps with curriculum developed and taught by MIT faculty, is delivered in collaboration with Global Alumni. Contact Global Alumni for more information about this program:

• professionalprograms@mit.edu or 
• call:+1 617 870 0270 USA  +34 660 558 464 EUROPE.

Global Alumni is an ed-tech company that collaborates with institutions to manage enrollments (including all payment services and invoicing), technology, and participant support. 
 

In this course, you will learn how to examine a competitive two-sided market. In addition, you will: 

• Recognize two-sided markets distinguish them from traditional one-sided or direct buyer-seller markets
• Critically analyze and discuss examples of industry platforms such as eBay, Etsy, Apple, Amazon, and Alibaba, and determine factors for success and failure
• Identify the technical choices a firm makes in creating APIs and industry standards for two-sided markets enabled by digital platforms
• Plan for development and rollout of a two-sided market, including adding features, incentivizing key customers, and negotiating with partners
• Examine the most recent research and models of two-sided markets, including on the stability of two-sided markets
• Define metrics for success in adoption and customer engagement
• Frame the tactics for growing provider and customer bases simultaneously versus the firm’s balance sheet

This course is designed for professionals that operate digital platforms or are creating a business around a digital platform and are looking to leverage these platforms to make informed decisions, differentiate their products, and grow their customer base.

• The contents can be of great benefit for professionals from a number of sectors and different levels, such as:
• C-suite and other executives looking to gain a deeper technical understanding of digital platforms in order to make more effective decisions for their organization. 
• Developers and engineers who work with digital platforms and want to learn about the key technical choices of two-sided markets, such as software development kits or application programming interfaces (APIs). 
• Product managers who want to leverage their technical choices for a dynamic digital platform strategy in the online marketplace. 
• Entrepreneurs looking to develop startups centered around digital platforms and two-sided markets and who want to ensure their company’s success in the online marketplace. 
• Policy experts and regulators who work with digital market policies in an expanding global economy.
• Professionals from technical backgrounds who work with digital platforms and two-sided markets who want to understand the choices they can make to enable their success.